Memories Paraiso: Expected much better

Here goes (my apologies for the length but ......); Beach / Pools 1) Beautiful beach - pool was fine Service 1) Several of the buffet staff were a little impatient with the patrons. We seemed to be in the way of them doing their job. 2) Room service was non-existent – took several days/requests to have one bottle of water delivered to our room – I was not allowed to pick one up. 3) Shop in lobby - supplied with souvenirs, liquor, beverages & snacks. No sunscreen, after sun products [... read more], bug repellant, after bite products, medication of any sort – would have expected at least pain medication (aspirin) and anti-nausea products. 4) Found over the course of the week that staff driving the shuttle carts drove a little too fast – we were a little concerned for safety of the patrons Food 1) Facilities are fine 2) Food lackluster at best – several in our party of 7 had adverse reactions to the food. One was in bed for the last 4 days of our trip. Upon seeking medical attention on our return – seems she had picked up an intestinal infection. Cause pointed to poor food handling/preparation and lack of fresh water. 2 others were down for 2 days due to food reactions. 3) We’ve been to Cuba twice in the past and never experienced problems with the food. I realize you don’t go to Cuba for the food but it should not make you ill. 4) Trying to get a simple thing like a bottle of water from anyone at the resort was next to impossible Rooms 1) All furnishings in need of replacing 2) Sliding doors (closet & balcony) need replacing or at least maintenance as their use was difficult 3) Ceiling fan blades are warped – safety hazard as the blades hang down to head level for someone over 6 feet 4) Seems bathtub was replaced by dropping a replacement inside the old one – exit hazard due to a 3~4 inch height difference from the bottom of the tub to floor level 5) Shower head mounting bar loose 6) Most phones were in place but did not work Value 1) Expected more from a 4 star resort. Have had better experiences at 3 & 3.5 star resorts in Cayo Coco in the past 2) Sand flea infestation haunted us during our stay and for a week after our return 3) Of 9 trips to the Caribbean in the last 10 years, this is the only time we ever considered leaving early Location 1) Gardens well maintained 2) Various light markers were damaged, broken or taken out completely – I suspect by the shuttle cart drivers 3) In several places I noticed taped electrical connections lying open to the elements

Resonance Blu Varadero: A great stay

The room and grounds were lovely. The activities were great and the staff friendly. I liked the beach aqua-fit and the band in the evening. The beaches were wonderful and excursions too- go on the catamaran! The only downside was the late airport pick up. The Sunwing desk was closed at the time of my early departure so when the bus didn't come at the time stated, I had no one to answer my questions. It turned out all the hotels got the same departure time, but that didn't help anyone. I w [... read more]ish the hotel staff could have helped with that.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Relaxing Retreat

This intimate feeling resort was exactly what we were looking for. The scale of our side of the resort allowed for a relaxing retreat. We had the ability to access the Grand Memories larger side for restaurants and events but only when we wanted to. We were completely contained within Sanctuary if that was what we wanted. It allowed the staff to be personal and friendly. It allowed the opportunity for the other guest to become acquainted. Not a party atmosphere unless you wanted it to be.  [... read more] Food was fine. There were times that it wasn't consistent when ordering the same thing. Room could have been cleaner in areas and housekeeping services could have been consistent with the towels etc but this did not alter the great time I was having. I went knowing I was going to Cuba not in Canada. Loved the Butler service especially Maurico, Rubin, Juan and then bar staff at the pool side.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: First Time in Cuba

It was a very fast check in. We were greeted with drinks. The bell boy brought our bags upstairs for us. We were on the 3rd floor and had a nice view of the resort. Walking up and down three flights of stairs at least twice a day provided lots of exercise, but for the older crowd I would recommend staying on the ground floor. The rooms were very clean. Our maid was a sweet heart. But there were some days that our new towels had stains, so we could not use the bath towel. They also brought b [... read more]ottled water on a daily basis to our rooms and restocked the fridge. Overall the resort staff were extremely friendly and provided great service. Most employees always had a smile on their face and would say hello when you pass by. The resort was well maintained. Every day the gardeners were out cutting the plants and trimming the trees. The pool was clean too. They had a sign with the PH of the water. There was an adult pool and a kids pool. There were places to rinse off your feet and shower through out the resort. You can exchange your beach towels btw 9:00am-5:00pm. It would be nice if you could exchange the towel after 5pm in case you wanted to do an evening swim. You would have to wait until 9:00 next morning to get a clean beach towel. We went to our sunwing intro session. The lasy was very informative. What I loved about her is that she did not try to upsell any extra excusions or extra trips. She just gave us gthe basics and everyhting we needed to knwo to have a great stay! The beach was gorgeous. Clear water, white sands, no litter, a few fish (but very early in the morning). The beach guy was always ready to get you a lawn chair and dust it off for you. There was also a sailing boat that brought people out into the ocean for a boat ride.They played nice music on the beach and drinks were available at the bar. The buffet food was not good. Very repetitive, and very few options to select from. The good thing though, there were a few prep stations where the chefs would cook raw meat on the spot for you. You could select your seasoning and you would also know what ingredients are in the food. The waiters and chefs were very friendly. There was an incident where a waiter broke a glass and the pieces of glass were on the floor. The staff did not sweep up the pieces of glass on the floor. It was somewhat hazardous, esp if a child walked by. There was a telephone room to make international calls. The prices were reasonable. There were diff phone booths so that multiple people can make phone calls at the same time. The theater shows were very entertaining. There was a ballet troupe that performed extremely well (felt like a live ballet segment). Cuban night was also lots of fun, great song selections and upbeat performances. It was also nice to see that the dancers would pick participants from the audience to join the performances on diff nights. There was a retro party one evening in the market. They played lots of classics from the 60s and 70s,which was cool, and some songs from the 90s. We practically danced the night away, and there were people from all ages just grooving together. The market is a far walk form the grand memories side, but its worth the stroll. The market has a bowling alley, an ice cream parlor, and lots of nice shops. There is also a tower that you can climb which will give you a 360 view of all three resorts in the area and the ocean. The hotel also offers rides around the resort to help people move from one end to the next. Everything runs on cuban time, which takes a while to get used to. If a restaurant sign states it opens at 1pm, most likely the doors will open btw 1:30/1:45pm. If the beach towel hut states it opens at 9am, you won't be able to get a new towel until 9:30/9:45am. The pace is a lot slower, which is a diff change if you are someone from a fast paced city. Overall I had a great time. Shout out to Danys, Pedro, Soleil, and Aryanis for great service!

Memories Paraiso: Good resort

some room is not 4stars.i was for first night In room with problems.sunwings representative and hotels receptions,changed this room with more better,that I liked Beach is beautiful. Garden is nice. People is friendly. Food was a good and possibility to choose what people prefer.profesonal dancers and acrobats every evining makes interesting show.l was on interesting excursion.bus was comfortable.excursovod made interesting and perfect job in clean English. If flys on times,and all room [... read more]s are good,tourists will be happy .

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Beautiful beach

Beautiful hotel and beach. Food okay. Poor lighting throughout the resort making it unsafe to walk at night. Mosquitos a real problem. Communication lacking among most of the staff making it difficult to ask for directions, drinks etc. The biggest thing was the constant spraying for mosquitos starting at 6 a.m. and continued throughout the resort during the day. I don't think this is very healthy. I know you have to control the mosquitos so get rid of the ponds throughout the resort which is jus [... read more]t a breeding ground for them.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Awesome Resort

This is an excellent resort, super friendly staff, the night shows are awesome. We did not have any problem during our stay. Huge location, bus services and excursions are good. Lovely place to spend time n relax.

Memories Paraiso: Amazing Beach and Friendly Staff

This was our second year in a row to this resort. We knew what to expect, that it is an older resort that needs some updates, but the grounds are beautiful, the rooms had everything we needed and were very clean. There was always hot water and extra towels, and cold drinks in our fridge. This resort, is good value for money. We traveled as a group of 7 (2 adults and 5 young adults ranging from 16 - 22yrs) and we all had a good time and found things to do. The buffets had a good selection to [... read more] choose from and there was always something for everyone to eat. We did bring our own volleyball, football, frisbee and this did help out being in the pool and on the beach. The staff are very friendly and do a lot to make you feel welcome and get you anything that you need. Kind words and appreciation go a long way. Kids did a jet boat excursion and really enjoyed it. We love the beach and spend most of our time there, so we would plan on going back to this resort. The only downside is the almost 2 hr bus ride from the airport to the resort, but the tour guides make it fun and interesting.

Memories Jibacoa: Beautiful area amazing staff

We returned to this resort for the snorkelling and we were not disappointed. Still great to get to snorkel right off the beach and even on those windy days it was fun to just swim. However we noticed some changes from 3 years ago - just about everything was more wonderful! The food was really good- and not " just for Cuba"! The grounds were still beautiful and the staff really meant it when they asked what they could do for you. One off note was that though we were in a beautiful room, the bed [... read more]s were really old and uncomfortable. They really do need to replace at least half of the broken sunbeds on the beach as well. Lots if returning guests created a cosy friendly atmosphere.

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: This resorts was fantastic

The rooms are very spacious and always kept clean. Grounds are beautiful and well kept. Would go back to this resorts. There are many food options to choose in the buffet and the snack bar. Pool service was great and so was the drinks

Grand Memories Santa Maria: Amazing Staff and Resort

This is our third time at this beautiful resort and will be going back again next year. When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted like family by all the staff that remember us, it felt like home from the beginning to the end. The beach is spectacular as always and our friends at the beach made us very comfortable. The food is much better at the Grand than at Paraiso. Also Mangoes were in season so it was a major bonus. We loved every minute of our time there and cannot wait for next year.

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria: Fabulous Vacation!

The Sanctuary service and staff was excellent. Everyone was super friendly and went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Rooms were clean and modern. The food was very good and their was tons of selection. The best part of course was the beautiful beach - absolutely breathtaking!

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Beautiful resort...minus mosquitos in May

Checked into the beautiful Memories Flamenco on April 28. Staff and location, excellent. On May 1 the mosquitos came and sent us to our rooms early every night until check out on May 5. Such a shame, we enjoyed zero night life. I unfortunately forgot my coffee purchase in my room fridge. I sent an email as recommended by my travel rep to a hotel contact person hoping against hope I could have it sent to me at my expense. I'm still waiting for a response. No one has acknowledged my message. I [... read more] would still recommend this resort. Food, service, accommodation and all. Think twice about this particular time, however, the mosquitos were quite a major, huge, mega inconvenience. I'm sure they found our bug spray amusing.

Memories Jibacoa: Problems in Paradise

We arrived at the hotel at 5:30 in the morning, we had no help with luggage and we were on our own to find the room in darkness, we literally went around the entire resort and we were already exhausted. Finally found the building and our accommodations we booked were two twin beds only to find a king size bed? Considering we booked two months in advance..Absolutely, we were upset being were two friends sharing a room for the holiday. Immediately, contacted the front desk and said this isn't ac [... read more]ceptable but were told they didn't have any other accommodations so after a day they brought in another bed. Certainly, these situations are not conducive to starting ones holiday. I will say the Resort and location were exactly what we were looking for most part the service was exceptional. I'll say the most disappointing part was our travel i ternary having been without a room for 13 hours is something I would have paid extra for . our flight home meant we were up for 27 hours , I would suggest that be corrected if your flying out at 4:38 in the morning you need a room for the day to shower, rest. I would also suggest that the flight i ternary include the time being picked up for the returning flight as the front desk didn't help us and only found out the last day that there was a board with all this information that's my suggestion. What's lacking at this resort is Entertainment it basically shuts down after the live performances, which were fantastic. We personally loved our time in Paradise but we didn't appreciate starting our holiday off under the above mentioned circumstances.

Grand Memories Santa Maria: This resort was awful

At this resort the phones did not work in our room. The lock to front door was not working and when you ask for service to fix the lock they did not give any urgency to my request. TV went on the blink just before we left. There were cockroaches in the dining room with lots of dead flies. My wife nearly got her lips cut with broken wine glass. The grounds were keep in pristine conditions and also public areas. The bathrooms were awful and most of the time some stalls was not working or no water. [... read more] We/I got lots of mosquitoes bites and I'm still recovering today from those bites with prescription medication. Some folks from our same town (Stouffville) said there were bed bugs and some got bitten very badly. There was also mosquitoes/bug truck going around spraying white smoke that also killed some folks who had asthma.

Memories Paraiso: Beautiful beach nice resort

First I have to say is that if you are going for a beach this is the place for you! Such a beautiful beach! My girl friend and I spent the week of may 7-14th. We stayed in room 33-75 which was an ocean view room. Room is a little out dated but comfy bed and beautiful view. It's a place to sleep at night. We always left a gift for our maid and a tip. Our belongings were never touched and our room was always clean when we came back. This is my first time in Cuba so I had heard the food wasn't the  [... read more]greatest which was true. The buffet pasta was usually cold, but some days it was pretty decent. Found enough to eat through out the day. The Italian restaurant was our favourite. The resort is kinda outdated but when you travel from the air port to the resort you can see why. My girlfriend and I never spent any time at the pool as we have our own. The beach was our favourite part! Huge long beach nice soft white sand! Can walk out very far and only be up to your shoulders! Very clear and no rocks or coral. We upgraded to diamond club so there was always someone at the beach to find us a seat and if preferred would be set up under a sun hut. Beach bar was good but always handy to walk around with a couple pasos so you can get better service. Other wise for me 7 days was enough. I read horror stories about the resort dirty rooms and such for people with basic rooms, but like they say you get what you pay for. I found for the extra 50-100$ why not upgrade

Memories Flamenco Beach Resort: Big Resort

Grounds were nice, beach was gorgeous and big, water was beautiful, rooms were normal, bars were nice, but food was not good and Mosquitos were horrific at night! If you don't tip you will not get good service!

Sanctuary at Grand Memories Varadero: Best resort yet for relaxing vacation

Very clean, service was fantastic, food was awesome, location was fantastic. Royal treatment in cuba. Would return If traveling to Varadero. Loved the way everyone looked after us. Breakfast on our balcony every morning was a lovely experience

Memories Caribe Beach Resort: Great Vacation

Resort is a short drive (20 minutes) from the airport. The resort is a nice size, not too large. It's quick to get from your room to the beach, pool or main building where the buffet and a la carte restaurants are. They could use a bit more signage showing where the churro guy is, the ice cream parlour and beach snack shacks are located. The rooms are cleaned very well and water replenished daily. The maids loved their tips and gifts. You could tell by the nice towel art they would leave e [... read more]veryday. The food in the buffet was decent and we always found something to eat...the pasta station was very popular and that is because it was always very good. The a la cartes are hit and miss....we tried the Mediterranean (not very good) and the Asian (liked this one a lot). The Asian books up quickly, so book early. I really enjoyed the food at the snack bar....fries, hot dogs and pizza were my favourite!! Drinks were good and the bar staff was excellent....they served us at our loungers at the beach and pool...very nice touch and prompt service. The beach is absolutely gorgeous. When the tide is out, you can walk for miles on the sand bars. Take a walk and look for starfish and other sea life that you may not have a chance to see when the tide is in. The pool is a nice size. The entertainment staff are really good. They interact with the guest nicely. They made the afternoons by the pool very enjoyable. The Micheal Jackson show, by the pool, was really good. Very talented dancers. The nightly shows were very good. My favourite was the Aqua Show.

Memories Jibacoa: Second Visit to this Wonderful Resort

This was our second visit to Memories Jibacoa and our 10th visit to Cuba. Such a cozy little resort, lots of improvements since last year and more to come in the near future. Our room was comfortable, water pressure was low in the room but it was adequate. The food was good, the staff and guests were all friendly. We were met with hugs and smiles and felt very welcome. The snorkeling is amazing and the piano bar is the best. Can't wait to return next year!